Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Reports that Tom Selleck is to be the new marquee name of NBC's "Las Vegas" series now that James Caan is leaving are "way premature," according to Selleck — but don't be surprised if they come to pass.

"It's not at all a done deal. I had just come from the first meeting where they said they'd like me to do it — I'm happy to say — when the Hollywood Reporter called my agent and said, 'Tom's going to do 'Las Vegas."' But we hadn't negotiated, hadn't even talked about what to do with the character."

But they're negotiating now. Fast. "They're planning shooting to start the 30th of April, so we're day to day," he says.

One of Selleck's key concerns is that he wants to continue to make Jesse Stone movies — as in his hugely popular latest signature character, the booze-bedeviled chief of police of a small Massachusetts town, from the best-selling mystery books by Robert B. Parker. The latest, "Jesse Stone: Sea Change," premieres on CBS May 20.

Also: "I'd like to see my family," says Tom. "'Las Vegas' is an ensemble, so the schedule is attractive. They wanted Jesse Stone to become a weekly hour drama, and I said, 'You know, my daughter is in high school. Ask me in a couple years.' That's why I quit doing 'Magnum,'" he adds of his 1980-1988 "Magnum, P.I." series. "We never got cancelled. I stopped doing it because I wanted to have a family, that was very important to me, and I knew I'd never see them if I kept up the schedule of starring in an hour-long show."

If all goes as is hoped, he'll play the new owner of "Las Vegas'" Montecito Resort & Casino. "I think he's a rancher and a bit of a mystery, which I like, who's equally at home in jeans or a tuxedo. I've heard 'debonair,' but I don't know how debonair he is. I'm always looking for the flaws in a character. That's what I fought for on 'Magnum,' that he wouldn't be perfect, wouldn't have a girl on each arm. I was influenced a lot by James Garner, whose Jim Rockford character was an ex-con. But I don't know what we're going to do," as far as "Las Vegas," Selleck adds.

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "The Bachelor" host Chris Harrison tells us he wasn't too happy with the show's last season in Rome, but he feels the new Bachelor, Lt. Andy Baldwin, is regaining the show its lost luster.

"It's definitely better than the last three years' worth. We just kind of got in a rut. We took a dip with Lorenzo [Borghese]. It was a mistake. For me, it was a disappointing season all around. I didn't think he was a great Bachelor at all," says Harrison of the Italian "prince." "In season eight, we had Travis, who was this great doctor, and then they thought, 'We've got to be different. Let's get this prince.' We've made up for that with Andy, though, who is this ridiculously good-looking doctor."

However, even with a great Bachelor in place, Harrison admits the behind-the-scenes team has little control over how the show turns out in the end. "It's a matter of luck with casting, coming up with a good guy, and also after a great season, it also comes down to free will. 'Is he going to decide to propose at the end?' If he doesn't, I think it kind of leaves everyone empty," he points out. "At the end of this, we have an amazing proposal, and he's such a genuine, good guy that it really paid off. People in the control room were crying or cheering. That's when we know we've got a good show because TV people are the most jaded, skeptical people in the world."

PET PARADE: "Scrubs" star Judy Reyes, who grew up in New York, tells us she can't get over how many Hollywood celebrities are infatuated with their dogs. "I'm in love with my dog, but I'm not obsessed with my dog," she insists. "My dog actually treats me like crap. My dog will sleep with me, but if I try to hold him, he gets off the bed. I'm like, 'I'm sorry. Come back!'"

Lea Thompson, who tells us she has four horses, 100 fish, a parrot, and three dogs at her home, is clearly an animal lover, but she admits she never got used to working with one on camera. "I did 'Caroline in the City' with the same cat for four years. Who has a cat in front of a live audience? The worst thing about it was that it was only trained to just stay. You'd pick it up and it didn't know what to do."

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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